Dec 24, 2015

Translation:Christmas Eve was plain chaos in Korvatunturi! There were lots of last minute preparations; gift wrapping, organizing, grooming reindeers and preparing the sleigh for Santa. Only the delicious Christmas meal gave the whole crew a moment to relax.When Santa left to share presents with few assistants everyone else took a deep breath and sighed for relief. The long chore was finally over!Elf trainees didn't get fully relaxed though. They were waiting for Christmas Day when they would hear if they became real elves or not. Elias was so tense that he had problems to finish his dinner...Elias was worrying for nothing though! Last but not least on Simonen's Elves-to-be list was Elias' name and Elias couldn't have felt more happier about his achievement! He's now a proud owner of an elf cap!Merry Christmas!

Dec 23, 2015

Translation:But Elias wasn't called to see Elf Simonen or Santa Claus. Several days passed and nothing like that happened. Elias was in awe. What was this? As an honest elf he marched to talk to Elf Simonen by himself. Simonen was just talking with the stable master elf.- Excuse me... I'd like to apologize the incident the other day. With reindeers I mean. I forgot to lock the door properly when I heard the siren... Elias muttered.- What are you talking dear trainee? Said the stable master in awe. - It definitely wasn't your fault but mine! I went to see that reindeers were okay since I heard the siren too. The door was locked for sure! But then Prankster got all dramatic and arranged such a chaos that every reindeer started to run around in panic! You were very helpful that evening. I haven't seen anyone being so fast with catching reindeers before!Elias didn't know what to feel. Relief got him eventually. He decided to be extra careful with the stable lock anyway in the future, just in case!

Dec 22, 2015

Translation:Elias is laughing too but not long because suddenly he notices that reindeers are running wildly on the yard. He forgot to shut the door properly?! Everyone in Korvatunturi knows that Snow White can open the first lock - that's why there're two locks on the door. Elias certainly forgot to lock the other one in the rush...Soon there's a small chaos going on on the yard. A group of elves are trying to catch the reindeers which would love to stay outside.In the end every reindeer is back to its own stall. Elias is both relieved and scared. It's great that reindeers are safe but how will he survive out of this mess?

Dec 21, 2015

Translation:The siren sound comes from the kitchen but luckily it's nothing serious. One trainee has just burnt the milk when she was making hot chocolate on the stove. Other elfs are giggling at the accident but Mrs. Claus isn't happy. She's making sure that the elf trainee will never leave the pot on the stove on its own again.

Dec 20, 2015

Translation:One day Elias is doing his duty at the reindeer stable in night shift. The head stableman is sick so elf trainees have taken care of the stable on their own. Elias is the last one at work and is just checking the reindeer's water buckets when he hears a loud siren sound coming outside. Elias rushes to see what has happened."I wonder if he remembered to safe lock the door..?" thinks a mouse on the windowsill.

Dec 16, 2015

Translation:There're lots of other things to do at Korvatunturi too. Elf trainees can help for example at the reindeer stables. Reindeer must be fed and groomed everyday. Also Santa's sleigh will be checked and maintained way before Christmas Eve.

Dec 15, 2015

Translation:Elias' first task is to build a controllable toy car. Elias gets what he needs to build one ans starts to work. Electrical work is tricky but Elias knows what he's doing. He does well and gets an approving snort from Elf Simonen when he passes by Elias' spot.

Dec 14, 2015

Translation:During his first day at the workshop Elias almost can't restrain himself - finally he can show his skills at handicraft!Elf Unto instructs Elias to his spot, gives him his first task and shows where he finds the materials and tools.

Dec 13, 2015

During next few months Elias pays more attention to his reports and learns to be a better observing elf. He still doesn't enjoy creating reports but he has got better grades. Luckily he will change from field work to workshop work soon. That makes him really inspired! He's great at handicraft work, you see.Edelliset osat / previous pages:

Dec 12, 2015

Elias feels so bad. First he gets a bad grade from the first task and then fails at the second one. He is going to admit his mistake immediately. On his way back to Korvatunturi he meets an elder elf.- What makes you that depressed, boy?- I screwed up my task. The kid saw me, Elias mutters.- What's the problem there? You didn't introduce yourself, right?- Of course not! I ran away as fast as I could!- And you were wearing "normal" clothes? the elder elf specifies.- Yes.- Then don't look that sad! You're safe. You were just like anyone else in human's world. Maybe a bit weird one but anyway... Go back and finish your task. Just be more careful this time. I will not tell about this to anyone. I've been there myself too, you know... Once, or even twice.Elias feels better after elder elf's words. He waves his hand to the elder elf and goes back to finish his task.Edelliset osat / previous pages:

Dec 11, 2015

Elias has arrived to his second task. This time he has more kids to observe and they're older than during his first task so this is a trickier one. Elias feels confident though.One day in the middle of work Elias gets a message. He gets so startled that he falls down from his hideout. The message is from Elf Simonen: "You get E from your last report. Be more careful when creating the next one!"- Who on Earth are you?? comes from Elias' right side all of a sudden. It's the eldest child of Korhonen. "Oh no, now I'm exposed!" Elias thinks quickly before rushing away.Edelliset osat / previous pages:

Dec 10, 2015

After one month Elias gets back to Korvatunturi to leave his report to Elf Simonen. Simonen just quickly glances over the paper before he crams it somewhere in the middle of his file which he always carries around.- I will inform your grade later. Here is your next task, Simonen says while giving the task paper to Elias."Observe Korhonen's kids. Ages 1½, 9 and 12. Write a report and bring it back to Elf Simonen."Edelliset osat / previous pages:

Dec 9, 2015

Elias is good at observing but making reports makes him go crazy. Writing isn't his strongest skill and it's also boring for him. Luckily kids' doings are usually fun and interesting to follow which will show on the reports too.Edelliset osat / previous pages:

Dec 7, 2015

The elf's most important feature on the field is to be indistinguishable. He also needs to be very attentive. Elfs collect information about kids' kind deeds and bad behavior during the year and listen to their most secret wishes.Edelliset osat / previous pages:

Dec 6, 2015

Elias' first task goes: "Observe Nilander's kids. Ages 3 and 5. Write a report and bring it back to Elf Simonen."Elias gets ready. On the field an elf needs lots of stuff to be able to see and hear how kids behave, even from the distance.Before Elias leaves he lights the 2nd Advent candle.Edelliset osat / previous pages:

Dec 5, 2015

Before trainees start their work they are given a very own locker and working gear. There're clothing for both field work and for workshop work. On the field elf is not supposed to be recognized as one and in the workshop they must follow safety rules. Edelliset osat / previous pages:

Dec 4, 2015

Next Elf Simonen divides the group in two. The first half will start their training "on the field" by observing kids's behaviour and the other half will start in Korvatunturi. In the middle of training groups will change places. Elias is a bit sad since he is in the first group. He would've loved to start the training in Korvatunturi instead.Edelliset osat / previous pages:

Dec 3, 2015

First elf trainees have a tour around Korvatunturi. Elf Simonen guides trainees trough the workshop, the gift wrapping room, the kitchen and the stables. Elias is amazed! Korvatunturi seems such a cool place. Everything looks fine and things work in beautiful harmony.Edelliset osat / previous pages:

Dec 2, 2015

It's the 1st day of February. The one month holiday has just ended and elf trainees have arrived to Korvatunturi. Santa's most trusted assistant, Elf Simonen, welcomes new arrivals. He isn't too happy though since this is the hardest time of the year for him. Trainees mean more work for him.

Dec 1, 2015

This is Elias. He has just ended the third and last year in The Elf Academy and will soon start his training in Korvatunturi. During next 23 days I'm going to tell you about Elias' trainee year. Will he become a real elf or will he end up training some more?

Finally it's Christmas! I've waited so much to begin my Christmas calendar again! I hope you like this year's version which is a piece by piece published story. Naturally both the story and the illustrations are both mine. My schedule seems quite hectic at the moment but I try my best to be in time everyday. Here we go! :)

Good morning!For this weekend's piece I asked some help on Instagram. I asked if I should draw Mousey in autumn scenery or into 1920's or draw Boogie the ladybug instead. One option was people's own suggestion. 1920's got most of the votes so here I go! :)Happy Fathers' Day to all fathers today! <3